Robert Lloyd Fish (August 21, 1912 – February 23, 1981) was an American writer of

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

Biography

Early life

Fish was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

, and studied engineering at

Case School of Applied Science The Case School of Engineering is the engineering school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. It traces its roots to the 1880 founding of the Case School of Applied Science. It became the Case Institute of Technology in 1947 ...

, where he graduated in 1933. Thereafter, he had a successful career in engineering management and consultancy,Vizzier, Anne R, "Robert L. Fish", in working in several countries that he later used as settings for his stories. He served for three years with the

Ohio National Guard The Ohio National Guard comprises the Ohio Army National Guard and the Ohio Air National Guard. The commander-in-chief of the Ohio Army National Guard is the governor of the U.S. state of Ohio. If the Ohio Army National Guard is called to f ...

37th Infantry Division.

Writing career

In 1953 he travelled to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, as an engineering consultant to a Brazilian vinyl plastics factory In 1960, Fish submitted his first short story to ''

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fict ...

''. He subsequently wrote over 30 novels and numerous short stories. His

first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, ''The Fugitive'', gained him the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

for best first novel in 1962, and his short story "Moonlight Gardener" was awarded the Edgar for best short story in 1972. His 1963 novel ''Mute Witness'', written under the pseudonym Robert L. Pike, was filmed in 1968 as ''

Bullitt ''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleine ...

'', starring

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and ...

. The same happens his 1967 novel ''Always Kill A Stranger'' was filmed in 1972 as Missão: Matar, starring Tarcisio Meira, Yvonne Buchingham. He also wrote the novel ''Pursuit'' (adapted into a two-part TV miniseries '' Twist of Fate''), and the

Holmes Holmes may refer to: Name * Holmes (surname) * Holmes (given name) * Baron Holmes, noble title created twice in the Peerage of Ireland * Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond (born 1971), British former swimmer and life peer Places In the Uni ...

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

''The Memoirs of Schlock Homes''. In 1963, Fish completed

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

's unfinished novel ''

The Assassination Bureau, Ltd ''The Assassination Bureau, Ltd'' is a thriller novel, begun by Jack London and finished after his death by Robert L. Fish. It was published in 1963. The plot follows Ivan Dragomiloff, who, in a twist of fate, finds himself pitted against the s ...

'' based on the unfinished manuscript with additional notes by London and an ending outline done by London's wife Charmian shortly before her death in 1955.

Death

Fish died in February 1981 at his home in Trumbull,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

Awards

* 1962

for best first novel: ''The Fugitive'' * 1972 Edgar Allan Poe Award for best short story: "Moonlight Gardener", '' Argosy'', December 1971 Two other short stories, "Double Entry" (''EQMM'', January 1969) and "Hijack" (''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'', August 1972), were nominated for Edgars in the "best short story" category, but did not win the award.

Legacy

The Robert L. Fish Memorial Award, sponsored by the author's estate, has been awarded annually since 1984 by the Mystery Writers of America for the best first short story by an American author.

Selected bibliography

* ''The Fugitive'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #1 ), (1962) * ''Mute Witness'', (1963) written under the pseudonym Robert L. Pike, was filmed in 1968 as

* ''Isle of the Snakes'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #2 ), (1963) * ''The Shrunken Head'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #3 ), (1963) * ''The Diamond Bubble'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #5 ), (1966) * ''Always Kill A Stranger'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #6 (1967), was filmed in 1972 as Missão Matar * ''The Murder League'' (1968) * ''The Bridge That Went Nowhere'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #7 ), (1968) * ''The Xavier Affair'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #8), (1970) * ''The Green Hell Treasure'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #9 ), (1971) *''Trouble in Paradise (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #10 ), (1975) * ''Pursuit'' (1978) *''My life and the beautiful game'', with Pelé, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, one of your biographies (1978). *''Brazilian Sleigh Ride'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #4 ), (1988)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fish, Robert L. American mystery writers 20th-century American novelists Edgar Award winners 1912 births 1981 deaths Writers from Cleveland American male novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers People from Trumbull, Connecticut 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Ohio Case Western Reserve University alumni